‘Jewel in the crown’: Chevron follows Exxon to Guyana’s oil riches

Chevron’s deal to buy Hess last week for $53bn gives the US supermajor access to one of the hottest prospects in the global resources industry: Guyana’s 11bn barrels of offshore oil.

There was little interest in the Latin American country’s potential as a fossil fuel producer when ExxonMobil began exploring Guyana’s waters for oil in 2008. That changed in 2015 when an Exxon-led consortium, including Hess and Chinese giant Cnooc, made a significant discovery at the Liza field, in the 6.6mn acre Stabroek Block.